I Once Trusted You
by chagall
Summary: "Have you ever been betrayed? Have you ever been betrayed by a person you cared about? A person you once thought was your best friend? Have you ever been betrayed by… someone you loved?"
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction! GinRan is my favorite paring in bleach so I decided to write a GinRan fanfic. Here it is! Enjoy! **

Chapter 1

_"Gin! Where are you going?"_

_Without looking back he said: " I'll be gone for a while now, Rangiku."_

_"Again? Gin, please stay", she cried out to him._

_Gin stopped walking away and turned around one last time to look at her. His cold blue eyes met hers._

_"Sorry Rangiku." And then he was gone._

Rangiku Matsumoto woke up immediately. She had been dreaming about him again.

_Sorry Rangiku_, those words had haunted her dreams ever since the day he betrayed her. That was the last thing he'd said to her before he betrayed the Soul society and went to Hueco mundo together with Sousuke Aizen and Tousen Kaname, all three of them was now former captains. Leaving her and all the others on the Soukyou hill, paralyzed of surprise and fear. That was exactly one month ago.

"Damn you", she whispered quietly into the darkness.

"Did you say something?"

Rangiku almost jumped out of her skin. Orihime Inoue's voice came from the door opening only a few meters from her.

"Oh, hey! Didn't see you there", Rangiku smiled at Orihime.

"Sorry Matsumoto, I didn't mean to scare you" said Orihime and switched on a lamp in the dark living room. Rangiku used to live in Orihime's house when she wasn't on duty.

A week had passed since she, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji, Rukia and captain Hitsugaya entered the World of the living. And just a day ago they had their first confrontation with six arrancars. She had survived, but just barely, if they hadn't get the permission to use the "limit release" they would definitely been defeated. Even if they had won the fight it had really taken a lot of her spiritual energy away. The only thing she could do now was to rest and recover and just wait until her powers came back.

"Eh, Matsumoto?" Orihime said carefully.

Rangiku suddenly looked up to Orihime and shook her thoughts away.

"Sorry, I'll guess I'm not quite awake yet. So what did you just say?" she said and yawned.

"I was just asking if you wanted some tea", replied Orihime.

Rangiku smiled at the beautiful young lady with long hair, just like herself.

"Sounds good to me." Rangiku was already on her feet.

Orihime Inoue had a nice and normal kitchen where she used to cook the most delicious food Rangiku ever tasted in very many years. Well, that was at least her opinion. After a few minutes Orihime served the hot tea.

"I hope you like it." Orihime smiled and lifted the cup to her lips and so did Rangiku.

"Mmm...it's perfect"

Orihime smiled satisfied to herself, at least someone did like her tea.

"Couldn't you sleep tonight? I couldn't, that's why I was up on my way to the kitchen when I thought I heard you say something"

Rangiku got a dreamy look in her eyes and said: "Actually I was awaken by a dream…" she sighed.

"A nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?" Orihime asked carefully.

Rangiku shook her head. "No, not a nightmare. It was a memory…" The usually glad and laughing Rangiku was gone and replaced by a face full of sadness. Orihime had never seen Matsumoto like this. She understood there was something serious was bothering her friend. She could tell by the look in her eyes that Matsumoto was carrying a very heavy burden.

"Something is bother you isn't? Do you remember when you helped me with my trouble with Ichigo and Rukia?"

Rangiku nodded.

"You told me something that lifted my burden in my heart, now it's time for me to do the same for you" said Orihime with her most trusted voice .

For a second Rangiku looked a little surprised but almost as quickly she remained control over herself. She looked straight in to Orihime's brown eyes and tried to hold back the tears. When she finally looked away she said: "I've never told anyone before…" It looked like the tears was wining after all.

Orihime reached out for a handkerchief and gave it to Rangiku in front of her.

"Here you go", she said softly.

"Thank you", Rangiku sobbed one last time before she wiped away all the tears in her face. With a normal voice, just a little shaky, she said: "Have you ever been betrayed? Have you ever been betrayed by a person you cared about? A person that you once thought was your best friend? Have you ever been betrayed by… someone you loved?

Orihime shook her head.

"I have." Rangiku answered her own question.

"Oh, Matsumoto. What on earth happened to you?"

Rangiku drank up the rest of her tea before she begun: "It all started when he saved my life..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Chapter 2 up! I'm a Swedish girl so English is my second language**** which means ********my spellings and grammar maybe are incorrect. But I'm going to do the best I can! This chapter takes place before Rangiku met Gin, but don't worry he will show up soon.**

* * *

Chapter 2

The first days of the autumn were unusually cold in the north Rukongai. A young Rangiku Matsumoto was running down the streets of the 69th district. It was so early in the morning that even the birds were still asleep. The streets were empty and quite, the only thing she could hear for the moment was her own breathing.

_Please say that I'm not late_, the girl thought. If she was late the boss would kill her. Rangiku worked for a man who was the owner of a popular inn in the middle of the town. Every morning she had to get up before sunrise and running to the job if she wanted to make it in time. But it was another reason why she did run to the work because after sunrise people was starting to wake up and if they did it would soon be very crowded. But getting to the work was just the easy part; the thing was to get home again. Finally she was there and entered through the doors with a smile on her face. It looked like she was in time after all.

"What are you smiling at? Get to work!" The boss howled at her.

The smile quickly vanished from her face.

"Yes boss", she said and snuck into the kitchen.

"Rangiku, just in time!" the chef said and glanced down at her. "Today you and the other girl, what's her name again? Anyway you two are going to do the dishing. And try to not stand in my way because I have to prepare a whole lot of stuff before the important customers arrives." The female chef was about thirty years and she didn't look bad either, in fact she was kind of pretty.

"When do they arrive?" Rangiku asked curiously.

"About two days from now, now get to work!" The chef could be harsh sometimes but she was actually one of the kindest persons Rangiku had met.

Rangiku and the other girl stood outside the pub side to side. They were dishing yesterday's dish because someone hadn't finished it. Rangiku cursed that person. The girl next to her stopped dishing.

"Oh my, I almost forgot!" The girl said as she took out something from her pocket. "I want you to have this back." She reached out a pink scarf to a very shocked Rangiku. She didn't know what to say. The girl continued. "You forgot this yesterday and I thought I could guard it for you so no one could steal it."

Rangiku merely stared. How could she possible forget that scarf?! It was the most precious thing she had. It was a memory of someone that took cared for her a short period when she was very young. Rangiku barely remembered her but she did remember that the mysterious woman always wore a pink scarf, in fact that scarf Rangiku was wearing was that one. One day the woman didn't come back but before she went she did leave her pink scarf at home. Since that day Rangiku always wore that scarf around her neck until now when she accidentally forget it?! Rangiku gratefully took her scarf and put in on.

"Thank you so much! By the way, what's your name?" She could have fainted of relief. In the 69th Rukongai district you have to hold on to what you have because if you lose it, it won't come back. Somehow, Rangiku was blessed for the moment, she had been given a second chance. She swore that she never would let the scarf out of her sight. Rangiku looked at the brown-haired girl next to her. She must really have a good heart…

"You're welcome and my name is Akiko"

Dishing was one of the most boring works of all. Rangiku hated it and it was almost as cold outside as dishing was boring. Akiko also thought dishing was boring so she decided to start a conversation just to kill time.

"Have you heard about that new criminal gang the Red Bandits? There are a lot of rumors going around about them", she said.

"What gang?" Rangiku said surprised that Akiko suddenly began a conversation, usually Rangiku was the one who have to take the first step. She really began to like this girl.

"The Red bandits. The rumors say that they are robbing and kidnapping people."

"What? Where did you hear this?" Rangiku knew that gossip and rumors was the closest thing to news you could get around here. It was quite usefully to know what was going on in the town, like which gang to look out for.

"Oh, the boss told the chef to watch out for them yesterday" Akiko informed Rangiku.

Rangiku wasn't blind, of course she'd notice how strange the boss acted around the pretty chef like he didn't know what to do and that nervous expression on his face! Rangiku couldn't hold back a giggle.

"And they say that the Red Bandits only come out after twilight when the dark is coming." Akiko said dramatic as she continued. "The boss told her how to recognize a Red bandit. He said that they all wore a red scarf around their arms."

"What did she said then?" Rangiku asked, getting more and more interested.

Akiko smiled. "She said that if she saw a Red Bandit she would kick his ass."

The both girls began to laugh. Rangiku suddenly wondered why she hadn't seen this girl before.

"Are you new here? I've never seen you around here", Rangiku said.

"Me? No, I've actually worked here for some months now" Akiko said and dried the dishcloth. Rangiku had almost forgotten that they were dishing. Times goes quickly when you have fun, she thought.

"What? How could I not meet you before?" Rangiku said obvious confused.

"Uhm, I think it's because I usually take the late work time. I probably starts working when you already have gone home", Akiko explained.

"That's why! But I don't understand why you doing that. I think we both know how dangerous the streets can be, especially for girls like us." Rangiku wondered. She was lucky to not have to work late, as long as she started to work early she didn't need to work late. There had only been a few times when she had been forced to work late. All of those cases she had successfully avoided all kind of people.

"No, not at all. I live with my family just around the corner." Akiko pointed at the opposite direction from the way Rangiku used to come from. Rangiku felt an unwanted sting in her chest. Akiko had a family, she wasn't alone like her.

* * *

It was early afternoon and Rangiku should go home. She got a little bag with food in to dinner. But before she could get the chance to step out through the door the owner stopped her. Rangiku almost walked into him. In surprise she took a few steps back.

"Girl, as you might know there's coming some important guests two days from now. So the following two days we need you to work late instead." The boss said strictly.

"W-what?" Rangiku did absolutely not feel to work late, especially after her conversation with Akiko about The red bandits.

"That was no suggestion! The boss pushed her aside and made his way straight.

* * *

Next day she went to the pub in the middle of the afternoon. It was so crowded in the streets. People were running around in hurry, screaming children and people who tried to make other people to buy their stuff by yelling. Rangiku was surprised that it was so noisy. Finally, which seemed like forever, she was there. It was harder to work late than early because it was more crowded. After a while she notice that some men started to be drunk. Rangiku tried to stay away from them as good as possible by hiding in the kitchen, not in sight for them.

The time passed by quickly and soon it was dark and the inn was about to close. Akiko and Rangiku finished their by cleaning the tables after all the costumers.

"Looks like we are done here", Akiko said and tried to smile but she was too tired so instead she yawned.

Rangiku was also totally exhausted, she was not used to work late. She grabbed a little bag with food in, to eat next day to breakfast.

"Girls, you should go home and have some good night sleep. Tomorrow the important costumers will arrive so it's going to be very much preparation and hard work", the chef said and started to look the other doors. They were the only one left, all the others had already gone home.

"Yeah, I'll guess you're right. Bye!" Rangiku said and she and Akiko went out in the cold night.

"It's really cold tonight, don't you think?" asked Akiko and shivered.

Rangiku agreed.

"Well, I'm going the other way so I'll see you tomorrow!" Akiko had already began to walk home to her family.

"Bye!" It was a long way home and she was so tired. The blonde-haired girl was fully aware that this wasn't a safe place to be standing on, all alone. Rangiku started to run, trying to keep herself worm. The streets that she usually used to pass every day looked so different in the moonlight. It was empty in the streets, too empty. She was half way home when a sudden movement from the side caught her eyes. It was a man, standing in the shadows with his back against a wall. Rangiku felt his gaze on her and began to run faster. Even though the man was just standing there Rangiku felt every nerve in her body screaming out DANGER! Then the man in the shadow began to walk at her direction. Now she was scared!

"Hey girl!" The man shouted out to her.

Rangiku froze. What would she do? She was just about to ignore him when he just collapsed on the ground.

"Help me…" the man whispered loud enough for Rangiku to hear. Without thinking she immediately turned around to help the man. A moment later she stood in front him and reached out a helping hand. But instead of take her hand he grabbed on to her shoulders. The man was quickly on his feet.

"Are you okay, sir?" Rangiku asked.

The man smiled at her, a dark smile. Rangiku noticed that the man didn't let go of her shoulders.

"Foolish little girl", he said and his grip around her shoulder tighten.

Rangiku was too scared to say anything. The man merely smiled as he pulled her closer to him. The proximity made her feel sick and she felt the man's hands moved from her shoulder down to her waist. There was no doubt what the man was after. He wanted her.

"What a pretty face you have little girl, it seems that I'm lucky tonight." His breath met her face and she could never image that a breath could smell so disgusting that she wanted to throw up. He moved his hands lower in her body again. Rangiku exploded. She couldn't let this happen! She felt something started to burn in her chest. That was nothing she ever had felt before, but she knew. The fire burning in her chest was the fire of pure rage.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" With an incredible strength that she didn't know she had Rangiku broke free from the man's grip. She turned around in order to get away from him as quickly as possible but stopped immediately when she stared at the five men that had surrounded her. And the worst part: they were all Red Bandits.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Even in the dark Rangiku could clearly make out the red scarfs around their arms. She had been too scared of the shadow man so she hadn't paid any attention to her surroundings so she didn't notice the five men, already standing behind her. The shadow man grinned widely as he took a step closer to her again.

"So, you got some reiastu…interesting. Did you hear that guys!" he said both to her and his friends.

Rangiku was frozen in fear, she couldn't even shake. Never in her entire life had she been so scared as she was now.

"No one can hear you", the man said and his evil grin did become wider. "You're all alone." His hands reached out for her again but she flinched away. The five men around her laughed as the moved closer to her. She could barely see their faces but she could see they were all men around twenty five to thirty.

"I wonder how much they will pay for her, probably much because of her high reiastu ." One of the Red bandits said.

"What? Do you think we should sell her? No, why can't we keep this little pretty thing?" Another man suggested.

"Yeah, I agree with Manzo. She will be quite entertaining, don't you think so?" The man named Manzo nodded, obviously satisfied with his friend's same opinion.

Another man stepped out and said: "No, we need money and food not _fun_. We need to sell her."

The men around her begun to argue with each other. The half group wanted to keep her and the others wanted to sell her.

Though Rangiku only was eleven years she wasn't stupid, she took their distraction as an advantage. In a flash she had shoved the man closest to her. He didn't see that coming so he took a few steps back in surprise. Rangiku saw the opening and didn't hesitate. Immediately she took off and broke free from the men who surrounded her. The red bandits barely detected her movements, she had been too fast.

Never in her life Rangiku had run so fast as she was doing now, it was almost like she was flying over the ground. Rangiku didn't have to look back to know the Red bandits were chasing after her. She could hear them yell at her. Though, she was used to run the men behind her were catching up fast.

_Just a little bit…_she was almost home.

"You will never get away from us!" The man yelled at her. To her surprise his voice sounded unexpectedly far away. Rangiku glanced back over her shoulder and saw the distance between them had grown. She could actually be able to get out from this mess.

With relief she saw her little house at the end of the street.

She opened the door and looked if from the inside. She thought she had run away from them far enough. Hopefully, they didn't see where she went. She pressed her ear against the door and listened after the Red bandits noise voices. But to no use, the only thing she could hear was silence. Exhausted and tired she managed to pull herself to her own bed. She'd lay down, closing her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Rangiku sat up right in her bed, feeling her heart beat hard in her chest. This was the first time in many years she had a nightmare. With a bad feeling in her stomach she swung her legs over the side of the bed.

She didn't have any shoes so her bare feet met the cold flour. Rangiku begun to search for her little bag with her breakfast but she soon remembered the night incident. Somehow she must have dropped the bag without even noticeing it. Only the thought of the Red bandits gave her the creeps.

Rangiku deicide to go to the work, perhaps if she came earlier she could finish earlier too. But the chance was little, today was the day when the special should come. The girl wrapped her pink scarf tighter around her neck and unlooked the door. The bright sunlight forced her to put her hand in front of her eyes to avoid it. According to the sun's position Rangiku could tell it was already noon.

_I've must have slept longer than I thought_, she hoped for her life that the rumors about the Red bandits was true. She remembered Akiko did mention that the Red bandits only came out after twilight if it was so it would mean she was safe during the day. Still she had this bad feeling in her stomach but deicide to ignore them as she begun to run to her job. She didn't notice the man hiding in the shadows behind her house, watching her every single steps. If she only had trusted her instincts a little more…

* * *

"Matsumoto! What are you thinking with?" The boss threw her cookie across the pub. It hit the wall and broke into small pieces.

"W-What? Rangiku asked and looked down, wondered who was going to pick that up.

"It was far away from good enough for our guests! I know you can do better and this is not the best day to have a bad day."

"Yes, but-" Before she could say anything more the boss cut off.

"I don't care, just go and bake some cookies!" The owner raised his voice.

Without a sound Rangiku went back to the kitchen. Akiko gave her an understanding look like that also had happened to her. How much she hated to admitted it, the boss was right. She was totally off today. There was a reason why: Rangiku couldn't think about anything else than the Red bandits. But not the Red bandits themselves just what they have said. Reiastu, what did they mean? Did she had some kind of power?

The day passed on quickly. She hadn't told anyone about the Red bandits or what had happened to her last night. She didn't exactly know why she didn't tell them. Was it because she didn't wanted them to worry or pity her? No, even if Rangiku did not completely understand it she knew it had something to do with her. It was like she was afraid to tell them, afraid they wouldn't care. As much as she wanted to believe she had Akiko, the chef and, yeah, sometimes the boss as friends but they wasn't just that close, so simple was it. Rangiku had nobody that _really _cared for her.

The evening did go on perfectly as the guest came. They settled down with the boss, it seemed that they knew each other. It was hot and everyone in the kitchen worked as hard they could. Her biscuits hadn't been enough so the boss just told her to stay out of the way. She wanted to go home….if she wasn't to any use why not? Well, the boss still sat with the guests so she couldn't ask him now.

Each hour passed after each other and it had become dark outside. Rangiku was worried, she knew the Red bandits was out there somewhere…

"Matsumoto", the chef called her name. "You look terrible, go home and get some sleep."

"But what will the boss say?" Rangiku asked.

The chef gave her a sly smile. "I think I can handle him. Don't forget your bag." She remained the girl and returned to the kitchen. Quiet like a cat she slipped out in the night. She could still hear laughter from inside the pub.

It was a quiet night and the streets was empty just like that last night. One again she ignored the feeling in her stomach. This time she didn't start to run as usual, she wanted to move in silence. Rangiku couldn't help to shiver and it was not just because it was cold. There was only one way home so she had to go the same way as she had done last night.

She stood on the same spot as she did yesterday. Nobody was here. Rangiku clenched her fist, ready to defend herself if a Red bandit suddenly should jump on her. Nobody did as she walked down the narrow streets to her house. Something wasn't right.

With relief she saw her house and allowed herself to drop the guard a little. The girl was only a few meters from her house when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. Before she'd manage to scream someone laid a hand over her mouth. The hand forced her to spin around and look straight into the shadow man's eyes.

"Did you really think you could run away from us yesterday? No, we let you." He scoffed at her as he pulled her closer to him. Rangiku wanted to scream and shout but couldn't manage to make a sound. Besides, his hand was still over her mouth.

_Damn, damn, damn! _

In the background she saw several silhouettes moving toward her, more bandits.

"Now, you are going to listen to us and if you try to put up a fight you are going to regret it", the shadow man said with a dark smirk on this face. "By the way, nice scarf you have. Mind if I borrow it?"

Rangiku felt another man trying to pull her scarf off, he was clumsy so he almost strangle her. The man took her scarf and walked over to the other bandits. Rangiku felt so cold inside. How dared they! She begun to struggle against the shadow man's grip around her.

"Didn't I make myself clear before?" The man said as he leadned forward . "Put up a fight and you will regret it." With those words he threw her down straight into the hard ground. They laughed at her pathetic attempt to stand up. Her legs were shaking so badly, she did not have the strength to stand up.

"Search the house!" the man ordered and two men walked over to her door. With a terrible crack they slammed open the door by force. The two men went into her house and disappeared from Rangiku's sight.

"No, wait-" Rangiku tried to yell at them but her voice failed her.

She could hear the men crush things from inside of her house, tearing it apart. All she could do was to watch. She had grown up here…all her memories…They had already taken her scarf and now they wanted to take her home away? Slowly she begun to move her body, forcing it to stand up. All she saw was a sudden movement and then something hit her right in the chest. She couldn't even see if he kicked or if he hit her with his fist. However, her breath was taken away as she flung backwards and down on the ground again. She could feel the sharp pain across her stomach and chest. Rangiku tried to catch her breath but the pain exploded in her ribs. The man laid his foot over Rangiku's back and pressed her against the ground.

"I told you, you were going to regret it" The pressure on her back made it hard for her to breath. "Look up now. It something I think you should see", the man said as he eased the pressure just enough for her to be able to raise her head.

"Set it on fire!" the man shouted to his men.

Rangiku saw the two men walked out from her house with some stuff. _Her stuffs._ She never saw it coming but suddenly her house was on fire. The flames spread itself fast over her wooden house. She could feel the heat from the fire even from her distance. The man above her laughed and she saw the man with her scarf throw it into the fire.

_NO! _her thoughts screamed out. Then Rangiku felt this familiar fire burning deep inside her chest. Her fear was turning into rage as she watched her house burn to ashes. The fire inside her grew stronger. She had nothing left here in this town. No home and no freedom anymore. Staying wasn't an option. Rangiku closed her eyes.

_Do you want to get strong? _

_Yes._

_Do you want to live?_

_Yes. _

_Do you want my power?_

_Yes, please lend me some your strength._

_As you wish…_

Rangiku could feel the wind increased as she opened her eyes. She was going out of this town and nobody would stand in her away.

* * *

**A/N: That was chapter 3! I hope you like it. Gin? I promise he will show up in the next chapter! This chapter took more time to update than I thought. I've been kind of busy this week, a lot of homeworks I'll guess...But I'll try to update sooner next time! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Slowly but steady she begun to pull herself up, feeling her heart beat fast and hard. She glanced at the men that stared back with wide eyes full of fear. They couldn't believe what they saw. A few moments ago she had been weak and completely helpless and a second later the leader had suddenly taken a few steps back. The wind was blowing, consuming her like an aura around her. But it wasn't just the wind that was blowing around her, the ash from the fire swirled around her as well, like it was alive. From nowhere they were hit by an invisible force. It was like a heavy pressure upon them forcing them down on their knees. It took their breath away and they couldn't fight it in any way. With an extremely strength she took off and ran towards them. All the Red bandits froze, as she came closer the pressure increased. But the girl didn't stop to take revenge for all they had done to her, instead in a flash she ran pass them like they weren't existed. The brief second she passed them her eyes met the man's. Then she was out of sight and the pressure did disappear. In relief they all fell into black unconsciousness.

Rangiku didn't know how long she had run. Hours? Minutes? It didn't matter. The only thing she know was that she was on the road, running so far away from her hometown as possible. No, it wasn't her home anymore. Though, it was frost on the ground and her clothes was dirty and worn out which left more of her skin uncovered, she didn't freeze. She kept on going. Slowly she could feel the unknown power fade away. A part of her was glad it was gone. Another part was graceful. Whatever it was, it had saved her.

It was almost dawn when she collapsed on the ground of exhaustion. She manage to roll over so she had her back against the ground. All her strength and energy was long gone. She glanced up at the sky, wishing she could go back in time. The sun was about to rise and still it was so cold in the air. Rangiku could barely feel her fingertips. She was so cold…so hungry…and so alone…

When she was at the edge of starvation and certain her life would end a shadow fell over her. A boy leaned over her. The first thing Rangiku noticed about the boy was his silver hair. She had never seen a hair color like that. The boy smiled and reached out a piece of some kind of dried fruit.

"Eat", he said with a kind voice. "The fact that you collapsed of hunger means you have it, powers?"

Rangiku merely blinked. She couldn't move her body. Though her throat felt dry as a desert she somehow manage to form her lips into two words.

"You too?" she whispered.

"Yeah, me too", he kept smiling. Never before in her life had someone smiled to her like he did. It made her feel warm inside. "Ichimaru Gin, nice to meet ya."

Rangiku's sight began to become blurry as all the shadows and forms melted together. She knew it was a bad sign. The silver-haired boy was still smiling.

"Ichimaru Gin?" she frowned slightly. "What a wired name…" Her eyelids felt so heavy so she simply closed them. And so everything became black.

When Rangiku woke up she found herself lying in a soft bed in a cold room. In a half second, she sat upright so she could get a better view over her surroundings. She was in a little house with only one room, quite similar to the house she _used _to live in. By now her house and everything in it had become ash. She didn't want to think about it. What had really happened? She shivered and wrapped the blankets tighter around herself. The walls was made of wood so no wonder why it was so cold. She could hear the rain clatter against the roof. She was glad the roof was waterproof.

"Feeling any better?" the voice came from the darkest part of the room, furthest away from the small window.

Rangiku almost jumped out of the bed in surprise. She tensed and instinctively prepared herself. Wait, didn't she recognize that voice?

"You're the boy from yesterday!" she exclaimed and pointed a finger towards him. He stepped out in the middle of the room. She could see him clearly now. His silver hair covered the most of his forehead and his eyes. So she couldn't really see his eyes. He was smiling like he did yesterday. He was very pale but she thought he was kind of cute. She put her pointing finger down and smiled carefully. Who exactly was he?

"I'm fine, I'll guess. I'm slept quite long, didn't I? So where are we?" She wanted to ask him a million questions but she knew it wasn't the right time.

The boy settled down on the bedside. He made sure to keep a comfortable distance between them.

"We're in my house", he said simply.

"Wait, how did I get here?"

"You were unconscious so I carried ya home to me." He said and Rangiku thought he looked a little amused. "I'm a lot stronger than I look like", he added when he saw Rangiku's disbelieving expression. "Ain't ya hungry?"

Rangiku hadn't thought about it until now when her stomach gave out a large protest. Gin probably heard the sound because he laughed friendly at her.

"I'll guess I am hungry", she said a little embarrassed.

The boy gave her the same kind of fruit she had been offered yesterday.

"Thanks!" she said and took a bite of the dried fruit he had given to her. It actually tasted good.

"What's your name?" Gin suddenly asked.

"Rangiku Matsumoto," she said and smiled. "Can I call you Gin?"

"Of course, I can call you Rangiku?"

"Yes, where are you going?" She saw him open the door. The rain was pouring down outside.

"I'm going to fetch some wood so we can warm this house up. Stay here, I'll be back soon." With those words he closed the door behind him and left Rangiku. Though she was alone in the house she could feel the empty hole in her heart was beginning to heal.

"Thank you…Gin."

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! I've been sooooooooo busy with school. Fortunately, it is only three weeks to the "autumn break" (we in Sweden have a one week break from school in the middle of the autumn.) Don't forgett to review! :DDD**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The days seemed to pass by quicker than usual. Maybe because Rangiku spent the most of the time sleeping. Even so, she never stopped counting the days since the day Gin had saved her. Today was the fifth day. During these days at Gin's house she had slowly regained her strength. It wasn't fully back to normal but close to it. And she also notice she felt more alert than usual. _That must be a good sign. _

"So, ya already awake?" Gin sat on her bedside, it had begun to become a habit now. Rangiku had no idea how he did it but he always succeeded to come and sit on her bedside without her noticing it.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better today." She smiled and ate her breakfast which was dried fruits and some berries as usual. She wondered if he ever cooked something.

"Physically yes, but it will take some time for yar powers to come back. "

The words had a quite effect on her, it brought up all memories from that night. This was the first time they spoken about it. Rangiku stared down at the blanket and felt for the first time in five days a little uncomfortable.

"I don't want it to come back!" She shut her mouth right after she had spoken the last word, embarrassed over her sudden outburst. _That was rude…_ "Sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize for something you haven't done wrong", Gin said and for some reason Rangiku felt he understood her. Like he knew what she must be going through.

"So Gin…What exactly is this spiritual thing?" She asked, glad her voice sounded much more calmer than she felt like. But she couldn't help but to feel a little, just a little, curious.

"Good question…Well I don't really know how to put it but every being has an amount of spiritual energy, _Reiryoku_ . And spiritual pressure, _Reiatsu_, is that pressure one's Reiryoku has. You and me, we have greater Reiryoku than ordinary people."

"W-What?" Rangiku didn't even thought she had understood half of what he said. It sounded so unbelievable. But the fact she had experienced it made it quite real. "You mean we're different from other people?"

Gin's expression shifted till something serious. He hadn't move a single muscle and he was still smiling, but something was different with him. His smile didn't reach his eyes. His eyes…this was the first time she had actually seen them. It was like he was always hiding them under his bang. Very bright sky blue eyes met Rangiku's gray. His eyes were so beautiful.

"Yes, in a way we are", he continued. "But remember, this is not something we choose. It is just the way things are." For a moment his voice sounded so sad. Rangiku didn't like the sadness in his voice at all, it didn't suit him. She felt sorry for him and something told her she wasn't the only one who had suffered because of this spiritual thing.

Without hesitation she placed one hand over his. Gin felt her warmth from her hand spread out through his body. Rangiku felt relieved he didn't pull away his hand.

"Gosh, you're cold!" She said as she felt how cold he was.

Gin watched her intensively with his eyes, trying to find a glimpse of fear. But she wasn't afraid of him. She didn't look at him the way everyone else did. Normally an ordinary person would feel uncomfortable around him and of some reason often find him frightening. That's how it always been, until now. In fact the girl seemed to look at him like he was her savior and in a way he was. He wondered if she felt uncomfortable now with her hand over his. Something told him she wasn't like everyone else. And not in a bad way either.

"Come here", the girl said and pulled him closer.

A moment later Gin found himself lying in the bed next to her. She knew it seemed a little awkward, she had only known him for five days but it felt more like they had known each other for a much longer time. There was a moment of peaceful silence between them.

"When is your birthday?" Gin asked.

Rangiku was a little surprised. "My birthday? I don't think I have one…" She had heard about birthdays before, she knew some of the employees at the pub had mentioned it several times. Back then she wanted to have a birthday but the problem was she had no idea when she was born. And even if she had one, what would it change? It was not like anyone would celebrate her so why even bother.

"Ya must have a birthday, but if don't have one then just pick a date", Gin smiled. "But make sure it is a special date for ya."

Gin was so kind and generous to her. If it wasn't for him she would probably be dead. And he had not just saved her life he also had the heart to take care of her. She couldn't say no to him, in that case she would be a horrible person.

There hadn't been many special days in Rangiku's life. And all those days belonged to her past. As long as the Red bandits was still on the streets she wouldn't go back. It was time for her to start a new life.

"The day you found me. I want that day to be my birthday", she said. When she said it, Rangiku knew she had made the right decision.

It wasn't often Gin was surprised. In fact , he was always one step ahead, he could always predict what was going to happen. He had it all figured out. But this girl didn't play according to the rules. She was so unpredictable and yet at the same time she was so easy to read, like a book. Now he was surprised. It wasn't the answer he had expected.

"I can't go back to where I come from. So please Gin, let me stay her a little longer. I know I'm useless but when I have recovered I swear I'll…"

"No need to get worried. Ya can stay here as long as ya want. And you ain't useless", he said with a soft voice.

His words meant a lot more to her than he would ever know. Rangiku relaxed and closed her eyes. She moved unconsciously closer to him.

Gin looked at her peaceful expression. She breathing was steady and heavy. She was already sleeping. The fact she could sleep so peacefully in his presence made him feel warm inside.

"You're really somethin', ain't ya?" Gin whispered. _Rangiku… _

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**A/N: Chapter 5 up! For once I actaually have a good reason why I didn't update sooner. Of some weird reason I was denied accsess to Internet! :o But now it is finally back to normal. I hope you guys liked this chapter!:D **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day when she woke up Gin wasn't there. He had left a plate with dried fruits on the floor beside her bed. The empty space on her right side was cold. _He must have left a long time ago._ She wished she had woken up then so she could get the chance to ask him where he was going this time. But she got the feeling Gin wanted to be alone when he left her and if she would ask him she wasn't sure if he would give her a straight answer or just smile mysteriously. If he didn't want to tell her, she wouldn't push him to do so. But she thought he could tell her when he was planning to get back. Rangiku thought it was a little frustrating to not know when he would come back. Sometimes he was only out a quarter, usually to fetch wood to the fire, but sometimes he could be gone for a half day. But that had only happened two times during these six days at Gin.

Her thoughts drifted away from Gin and to that night almost a week ago. She couldn't help to think back, though she had decided to start over the memories from that night didn't seem to leave her. She couldn't stop the hundreds of memories that ran through her head. Her house, her job at the pub and every person that she had worked with there, the town she had lived in for so long and the Red bandits. When she tried to recall what had happened that night she found her memories from that night to be very unclear. It was like a thick haze around the memories as prevented her from digging any further into her own mind. But she did remember that voice. It was a female voice that had spoken to her. She knew she had spoken to the voice but she couldn't remember their conversation. Wait, was the voice real or had it just been in her imagination? She wasn't sure. She frowned and tried to remember but to no use.

She laid back and was about to close her eyes when she noticed it was very quiet. She didn't hear the rain against the roof. She was on her feet and moments later she opened the door out. She had never been outside during these six days. She opened the door wide open. At the first the bright sunlight blinded her as she stepped out of the house. When her eyes had got used to the sunlight all she could do was to stare with wide eyes. The place outside Gin's house was so beautiful! The house was on a small hill and just twenty meters away there was a lake. It also seemed like Gin lived at the edge of a forest. She could hear birds sing in almost every tree. She loved this place.

"I'm glad to see ya up and healthy." Rangiku recognized the voice immediately.

"Gin!" She ran over to him. Gin was standing in the door opening to the house like he'd never been away. Once again Rangiku hadn't noticed him until he allowed her to be aware of his presence. "What have you got there?" she pointed at the clothes Gin was caring.

"Here take them. I figured they will suit ya." Gin held out the clothes to her.

"Thank you!" Happily she took the clothes as they went back into the house. She couldn't thank him enough. She had really needed new clothes because the worn out clothes she was wearing now wouldn't last so long until they were unrecognizable as clothes.

"If ya fellin' alright I can show you around a little so ya don't get lost in the forest", he said and shut the door behind them.

"Good idea! It is very beautifully around here" she said and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, it is." Gin returned the smile.

Ten minutes later Rangiku had changed clothes. The new clothes were warm and comfortable. She thought it looked good on herself. Gin sat by the fire with his back against her.

"Where did you get these?" she asked.

"I went to a town nearby. It's pretty big so ya can almost find everything you're looking for there." Gin made place for her. Rangiku settled down on the spot next to him. The thought that he was talking about the same town she had come from crossed her mind. But a second later she waved away the thought because the town she came from wasn't that big as Gin had describe it to be.

"I don't think ya have been there before," said he as if he had just read her mind.

"May I come with you sometime?" she asked. This was the first time she had asked him if she could come with him when she went somewhere. A small blush appeared on her cheeks. _Oh no, I shouldn't have asked_. _Now he thinks I'm just a bother…_

"I can't see a reason why not." Gin smiled. "So, what do ya think about yar clothes, do they fit?"

"Thank you so very much! They are perfect and very warm."

"Good, the winter here can be very hard. We don't wanna catch a cold, right?"

The winter, she knew it was lots of things to do before the winter came. Damnit, now she would only be in the way for him. Gin couldn't possible prepare everything for the winter for both of them by himself. She thought of all the food he must gather and all that dried fruits. Was that the only thing he ate? When she thought about it she hadn't seen him eat something else than that and she hadn't complained either. She should be graceful he even bother to spare her any food at all. And then it hit her.

"The winter is a hard time. I know it going to be hard and I know you can't look after me because it too many things to do. But I think I can help you. If I do all the housework so you can focus on other important things. I can cook and clean, I used to work at a pub so I have a little experience. So what do you say?" Rangiku breathed out. All that had almost come out at the same time.

Gin mused. If she could do what she had said she could, things would definitely be easier.

"So ya can cook? That's good. I gotta admit I've never learned to cook. I usual go into town and eat somewhere. For me, yar idea sounds brilliant." Gin took a dried apple slice. "Funny, I can't get enough of these."

Rangiku laughed. "We have a deal then?" she reached out a hand to Gin.

Gin swallowed the dried fruit and took Rangiku's hand. "We have a deal."

* * *

**A/N: I'm very sorry for all the grammatical errors in previous chapters and this chapter. I know, and I'm trying to fix it. I have at least corrected the worst, I think...and I should also apologize for my spellings. But remember, English is my second language. So if you see something like more grammatical erros, send a PM and let me know. I really hope you like this fanfic! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:**** IMPORTANT**: **This chapter takes place the same time (the arrancar arc) as chapter one!**

Denreishinki: Divine Messenger Machine (it looks like a cellphone)

Chapter 7

"Are you sure you should do this?" Orihime asked carefully. "I mean your spiritual energy is still low since your battle against the arrancars?"

"Yeah, that's true but I'm just going out on an ordinary patrol. I think I can handle a few hollows if they do show up." Rangiku said and when she saw Orihime's doubting gaze upon her she added: "After all, I am the lieutenant of the 10th Division."

"You're right! How could I forget?" Orihime tried to laugh away the anxiety she felt. Her friend should rest and take it easy, that was what Urahara had said. But Rangiku seemed to think that she had enough so she had firmly decided to go on this patrol. Orihime and Rangiku hadn't known each other for a very long time but during these ten days they had learnt that they had a lot of in common. They had told each other things they never told to anyone before. Orihime thought their friendship had strengthen twice as much that night when Rangiku told Orihime about her and the former captain Ichimaru Gin and their past in the Rukongai district. Orihime had been very shocked and couldn't say anything that would help her friend, instead she had just embraced Rangiku and told her that she understood, understood the pain. Rangiku could hide it well but Orihime could see behind the cheerful outside of Rangiku, that inside, her heart was broken.

"See you!" The strawberry blonde waved goodbye and closed the door behind her.

When she was outside she started to write her daily rapport to the soul society on her Denreishinki. After she had done that she thought about going higher up, maybe up on the house roofs so she could get a better view over the city. But then she remembered, she was still in her gigai. Which meant she wasn't invisible for humans. She sighed, it was so boring to walk around in a gigai.

"Hey, Matsumoto! What are you doing in your gigai?" She heard a very familiar voice yell at her. Ikkaku stood on top of a building with his sword over his shoulder. Rangiku decided to not respond him because she didn't want look like an idiot to the other humans around her who couldn't see him . Apparently, Ikkaku's brain hadn't figure that out so he simply thought the woman hadn't heard him.

"HEEEY MATSUMOTO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN YOUR GIGAI?" This time he yelled as loud as he could. He saw that the women stopped walking but still didn't answered him. Was the women deaf or what?

Rangiku seriously wondered how that brain dead man could the 11th Division's third seat.

"Baka," she murmured. Of course she had heard him, how could she not?

Ikkaku jumped down from the building and landed right in front of Rangiku.

"He-," he began.

"I heard you the first time," she cut him off before he had finished his sentence.

"Why are you still in your…No don't tell me. You're still recovering!" He said and Rangiku could almost see the bulb over his head shining bright. "HAHA! I recovered a long time ago!"

"I used the limit release… Anyway, how did you beat your arrancar?" She asked and to her surprise Ikkaku turned away, not facing her.

"It was really easy…I'm in a hurry," he said quickly and used his shunpo and so he was gone.

"What's up with him?" she wondered why he had suddenly acted strange when she asked how he beat the arrancar. In normal circumstances he would just have braged about how he had won the fight and how powerful he was. Weird.

Later on the afternoon when her patrol was almost over she walked past a park. There was also a smaller playground and there she saw many children playing in the sand and older children playing football with each other. Rangiku decided to watch the children for a while. It made her happy to see their happy smiles when they was having fun with each other. In the soul society you almost never saw small children playing and having fun without concern. Maybe it was because it wasn't any children inside the Seireitei.

Suddenly she felt her denreishinki vibrating in her pocket.

"A hollow? Where?" she stood up and slid her hand down in her pocket to pick up the denreishinki.

Something attacked her from behind. That something was unbelievably strong, with only one hand it lifted her into the air. Then it dashed her down. She was completely caught off guard. She hadn't even sensed its spiritual pressure. Her head hit ground so hard she thought her skull must have cracked. What was it? Even though she was in big pain she could see the second attack approaching. Thanks to her shunpo she was able to avoid it. But the shunpo was extremely slow in her gigai. She wasn't even sure if you could call it shunpo. When she looked up to face her opponent she saw there was no doubt about it, that was an arrancar she was dealing with. Why now? She had no chance of winning or even surviving this. Her spiritual powers was way too low right now. Did she had some kind of death wish? She wasn't the person who recklessly did things without thinking. But this was very unexpected and she never imagine this could happen. Plus, she hadn't got much time to think.

In a flash the arrancar was behind her. She didn't even have the time to react when his merciless fist hit her back and send her flying across the park. She could hear the children's screams. Now they knew something bad was happening and like children do, when they are scared, they ran away crying, probably to their parents. Good, now they were safe so Rangiku didn't need to worry about them for now. What she should worry about was the arrancar standing on the other side of the park. She had been lucky because she landed in the soft grass. She wondered if this arrancar was taking orders from Aizen or acting alone. Due their experience from the first fight with the arrancars, they knew not everyone in Hueco mundo was under Aizen's command.

Rangiku manage to crawl to the closest tree there she forced herself up on her feet. She had so little energy left, it was barely enough for her to stay conscious. She leaned heavily against the tree so she could stay on her feet. She had dropped the denreishinki on the ground at the arrancar first attack. Now wasn't she able to contact anyone that could come to her rescue.

The arrancar was coming closer to her with big steps. He was an ugly one and his appearance reminded her of a big drooling gorilla that wore a white jacket and white hakama.

_I'm not going to be devoured by an Arrancar!_ Her head felt like an exploding bomb and she could feel the pain from her broken ribs every time she drew a breath. She wasn't about to last long. The shunpo she had used to dodged the arrancar's second attack had really drained her on her last spiritual energy. Her vision became blurry and she felt her body was about to collapse. _Damn it!_ She hated it, to be this week. This pitiful helplessness.

The arrancar was only a few feet away when he grinned at her.

"Ah, shinigami smells good. Want to eat." He rumbled. His hands reached out to take her.

A bright light came from nowhere and ran straight through the arrancar's outstretched arms. The next second both of the arms fell to the ground. Blood poured out of the remaining parts of the arrancar's arms. The arrancar burst out in a terrible loud roar. Rangiku got a few blood drops on her cheek.

"What the hell was that?" she gasped. And then a shadow fell upon her. Someone had saved her. She should be thankful to whoever whom had saved her but this wasn't just anyone. She knew this presence all too well.

"My, my, shame on you lieutenant Matsumoto for being in such a bad shape."

Gin Ichimaru stood right in front of her with his typical smile on his lips. Gin Ichimaru, the worst traitor ever and Gin Ichimaru, her childhood friend. She couldn't believe this but there was no mistaking it. If she had the strength she would have drawn her Haineko immediately but right now she hadn't. She didn't know what twisted game he was playing but she wasn't about to follow the rules in that case.

He splayed his arms out on the tree on either side of her, making her a prisoner between his arms. He leaned his face close enough so that she could feel his words on her lips.

"Have ya missed me, Rangiku?"

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**A/N: So what did you think?**** Remember the story's present takes place during the Arrancar arc.** I will get back to writing about Rangiku and Gin in the rukongai but I will also write about what is happening in the story's present. I think you will get it if you continue to follow the fanfiction. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Gin!" she gasped and Gin pulled back to watch the expression on Rangiku's face. She was breathing heavily and her eyes refused to look away from his. Though she was in pain she still had that strong look in her eyes.

"Some things never change…" he said and his fake smile faded for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I was simply walking by when I saw a lady in trouble", he smirked.

"Don't play innocent in front of me!" she said through gritted teeth. What he had just said was so like him, never giving her a straight answer. Always playing around with words.

Rangiku had almost forgotten the Arrancar but a loud roar made her acknowledge him again. Gin did it too and turned around to face the Arrancar.

"You're making a lot of noise. Can ya please quiet down a little?" he said politely but Rangiku had known him long enough to know when he was threating someone.

"My arms! Gonna kill you!" the Arrancar roared at Gin. He took a few steps in Gin's direction.

"I take that as a no. In that case…Let me silence you instead", Gin said and his smile grew wider as he drew his zanpakuto. At the same moment as he drew his zanpakuto he also released a fragment of his reiatsu. That little fragment was barely detectable but to Rangiku it was overwhelming. That reiastu was so familiar to her. How could she forget the reiastu that belonged to a child whom had saved her life so many years ago back in the Rukongai and also belonged to her worst enemy now.

"Your leader made Aizen very disappointed with your failed attempt to a rebellion. Those that disobey Lord Aizen shall all share the same fate. Death within a short time" Gin said deadly calmly.

Rangiku had so many things she wanted to know. It seemed like the Arrancar wasn't on Aizen's side. When Gin was finish dealing with the Arrancar would he come after her? And what did Gin mean when he said 'your failed attempt to a rebellion?' Did that mean not everyone in Hueco Mundo were their enemy? I that case , would it make them their allies? _Damnit, what am I thinking? I have more important things to do!_

Somehow, she had to found a way to contact the Soul Society, that was her first priority. Which meant she needed to find her denreishinki that was somewhere on the ground where she had dropped it. How in the hell would she make it there without drawing Gin's attention to her and without falling unconscious. She couldn't use her shunpo. She had to sneak away and take it when Gin was the most distracted. _Like that would ever happen,_ she thought. _When Gin is going in for the kill that's my opportunity. My only opportunity. _

"My, my, don't ya know ya should show your superiors some respect?" Gin told the Arrancar. The next moment he took off and with one blow he severed the Arrancar's head from the rest of the body.

Rangiku forced herself to move her body but after just a few footsteps she went down on all four. She couldn't sense the Arrancar's reiatsu anymore and she could barely feel Gin's reiastu either. But she knew that had nothing to do with her weakened condition. It felt more like Gin was hiding his own reiastu like he didn't want anyone to know he was here.

However, Rangiku dragged herself several feet father. She had to get her denreishinki now and contact the Soul Society. Gin was dangerous and powerful and what if he went after her friends, as much as she hated to admit it she knew they didn't stand a chance against the former Captain. And she wouldn't dare to imagine if Hitsugaya fought Gin. Not here in the World of the Living. She knew her Captain held a certain grudge against Gin especially after the incident in the Soul Society that involved Lieutenant Hinamori. If they were going to take down Gin they needed reinforcement from the Soul Society.

_#Flashback#_

_"Gin, I think I have fever." She was cuddle up in the bed with extra thick blankets over her._

_"I thought so", the silver-haired boy said. "Are ya cold?"_

_"No. But Gin please, can't we go to the festival? I'm not that sick", she asked and coughed._

_"Not in your condition." Gin sat on her bedside holding a bowl with water. "Here, drink."_

_"Thanks Gin", the girl said took the bowl. "Gin, please. I want to see the fireworks" _

_"No", he said firmly and then he leaned forward. "I will not allow you to hurt yourself."_

_"Gin?"_

_He pulled away and smiled. "Besides, I bet we can watch the fireworks from here." _

_"Yaay, promise to wake me up when it starts", she said happily. _

"Stop, you will only hurt yourself." Gin said seriously and suddenly stood in front of her.

Rangiku froze looking down on Gin's shoes. She didn't know how to face him.

"Looking for this?" He held out her denreishinki only inches from her face in a taunting manner.

"What do you want?" she manage to say but it caused her to cough up blood.

"You're really hurt", he said and to her surprise he sounded concerned.

It was true what he said. Some of her ribs was obviously broken and her head did hurt like hell. She knew she wasn't going stay conscious for very long.

Gin kneeled so his head was in the same height as hers. Black spots began to fill her vision. _What was he doing?_ she thought. Gin was close now very close. It didn't seem like he would hurt her…She felt her eyelids become heavy. Strong arms wrapped themselves around her. She didn't feel the ground anymore. Was she flying? The black spots now filled her whole vision, shutting out all light. Black.

_Warmth…_

_Strong arms…_

_A certain scent…_

_So familiar…_

When Rangiku woke up she was laying on a soft bed. Wait, she was in Orihime's house! The young women wasn't home right now. Rangiku guessed she was in school with her friends. Her Captain wasn't here either. What exactly had happen? The Arrancar who attacked her…and Gin Ichimaru. Yes, now everything came back. She was about to find something to eat in the kitchen when she saw it. A plate on the table that wasn't one of Orihime's.

A plate filled with dried fruits slices. There was only one who would give her that.

"Damn, is he doing this just to tease me?" she said out loud. _Or maybe he's just allowing himself to care again…_

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**A/N: First update this year! 2013! I hope you guys liked the chapter and I'm sorry for all the errors. I know there is a lot of them but you know it's hard to write in a language that isn't your native language. Review! :D  
**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

#**Rukongai**#

It had been two year since the day the silver-haired boy saved her. Rangiku could barely believe it. The past two year with Gin had been like living in a dream. For the first time in her life she felt like she really belonged somewhere. Here, in this house together with Gin. The both of them had grown very close. At first, Rangiku had doubted she would stay any longer after her wounds had healed. But Gin was like no one she had ever met. He had been so kind and gentle to her. He had treated her like she was important to him. After just a week she had leant to trust him.

He had also taught her how to control her reiatsu. They had had some lessons in how to conceal it. So no one could find out that they were special. Gin had told her ordinary people weren't very fond of people like them. It had been hard to understand how the reiryoku and reiatsu worked but fortunately Gin had been a very good instructor. After a month she had learnt to hide her reiatsu and Gin had said she had more control over her reiryoku than _ordinary_ people like them. The compliment had made her blush and feel warm. That was the first time Gin had been proud of her.

She was thirteen now and Gin was fourteen. The autumn had just arrived in the Rukongai district. She was happy about that. Because it meant Gin would stay home more. During the whole summer and at the end of the spring he worked somewhere in the closest town. It was Rangiku who had suggested him to take on a job so they could buy food instead of always eating dried fruits and Gin hadn't mind at all. He didn't talk much about his work when he was home so Rangiku didn't exactly know what he was doing. She didn't want push him to tell her things. Although, she did know he was well paid because they had plenty of money to buy food and other things and probably it was a heavy work. Of course she had noticed how well toned his body had become during the two years. She blushed at the thought.

Rangiku had the ability to know which subjects Gin occasionally avoided and she never pressed him to talk about them either. It often was subjects that involved where he came from, what he was doing when he was gone and things about his past. Not because she didn't care, Gin was the most precious person in her life, but because every time they had come close to those subjects that sad expression on his face had appeared. She never ever wanted him to make a such expression.

She didn't know it but that ability was the reason Gin could open up to her the times he did. She was the first one to really accept him. But it didn't matter to Rangiku if Gin didn't tell her everything about his past, the only thing that truly mattered was that he was with her right now and that was all she needed.

When the autumn came Gin stayed home and helped her with the preparations to the winter. The past winters had gone pretty well and they had never been short on food. Except the time when a storm had occurred which had forced Rangiku and Gin to stay indoors for three days. They had to keep each other warm by sharing their body heat. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't that bad after all. Her past in the town seamed so distant.

"Smells delicious." a voice said behind her. She smiled.

"Always home to dinner", she said and continued to set the table.

"Yep", Gin sat down. He loved to come home to a warm house with dinner ready after a long day. When he saw the vegetable soup he added: "Your cooking skills are truly something."

"You know it wouldn't hurt if you wanted me to teach you", Rangiku replied and smiled.

After the dinner Rangiku took care of the dishes. She was just about to go outside when Gin stopped her.

"Have you forgotten?" Gin seriously.

"W-What do you mean?" She said, confused at his so serious expression. Had she done something wrong?

He sighed. "Which day is it?"

Rangiku's eyes became wide when she realized. "Oh my god, how could I forget!" she exclaimed.

"Happy birthday", his blue eyes lit up and he gave her one of his smiles.

"I'm so sorry!" She avoided meeting his eyes. Why did she have the habit to accidently forgetting important things? She had just been a little busy these days.

"Come with me", Gin said and walked out and Rangiku followed him.

"Gin, where are we going?" she asked, curious.

When he didn't answer she became a little worried. Why was he so mysterious?

They walked for a while until they came to a hill where she had a clear view over the countryside. It was cold outside and she shivered. Two warm arms wrapped around her. She blinked in surprise and Gin pulled her closer to him. He wore warm yukata and a hanten unlike Rangiku who wore a simple jinbei.

"We don't want ya to catch a cold", he said softly and breathed in her scent.

"Gin, what are we doing where?" She wondered, trying hard to not blush. "It's getting late."

"Look up at the sky."

"What are you-" she began but a loud explosion interrupted her. She almost jumped out of her skin and a half second later she had buried her head in Gin's chest. He could feel her tremble in fright. There was another explosion followed by a several others. For every explosion her fingers dug deeper and deeper into his hanten. He placed one hand on her head.

"Look up at the sky", he repeated softly.

Rangiku shook her head against his chest, too afraid to say anything.

"Trust me", his gentle voice reached her and she could almost feel him smile.

Slowly she let go off him and looked up. What she saw was a lot like a fireball, except that she couldn't make out any flames, was shot up from the earth into the sky and then with an explosion the ball shattered in millions of stars. It almost looked like it was raining stars in different colors . That was the most frightening and the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"It is called fireworks", Gin murmured near to her ear so she could hear him clearly.

"Fireworks?" she breathed, with her eyes on the sky.

"Happy birthday Rangiku", he said and smiled.

She returned the smile with an even wider. "Gin, you're the best."

Here she was, standing on top of a hill watching the fireworks and having Gin's arms around her. She wanted this moment to last forever.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, this chapter took a while to update this chapter. School is really getting on my nerves. Sorry about my grammar and spellings and the lack of all detailed descriptions, but I really like this pairing so I'm gonna keep writing. Hopefully. btw...Review! ****  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

#Rukgongai#

The winter was over long over. A part of Rangiku was happy that it was spring so she could be out in the fresh weather and feel the sunshine caress her skin. But spring meant that Gin was out more. Even if his work hadn't begun yet, he was gone most of the time. She wondered where he was gone to. She had first noticed it when the winter had withdrawn that Gin was gone more often than he used to. She barely saw him anymore. Almost every day when she woke up he had already left. Even the empty space beside her where Gin slept was cold. The only time when she saw him was when she had made dinner. Gin was always home to dinner. But after he helped her with the dishes he went out again and said that he would come home late and that she didn't need to wait for him.

The first times she had waited for him but he had never come home so she had unwittingly fallen asleep. After a week she stooped waiting for him, she got the feeling he didn't want her to wait for him. The only proof she had that Gin actually was home during the nights was that when she woke up she would find a bag he had brought with food.

She never told him, but she missed him. Even though he was home at dinner she hadn't a single time asked him where he was all the time or showed any sign of bother. When he was home she didn't want to waste his time by arguing so instead when he was home she tried to make his time home pleasant and enjoy his company fully.

There weren't many things that surprised him but Rangiku never stopped surprising him. Even if he was surprised he could hold his mask and hide it so she wasn't aware how much she affected him. She surprised him by just being her. In the beginning he had thought she would eventually leave but she didn't. She stayed. Then she surprised him with accepting him. She didn't question him or was demanding and annoying which he thought the most girls were in her age. It really was a good thing she didn't question him because then he wouldn't be forced to lie. She seemed to understand him more than anyone had ever done. Maybe that was because no one ever tried to. Yes, she was the first to try and succeed. He wanted to tell her everything but he could never do that to her. He didn't want her to be pulled into his dark world hidden deep inside of him. He wanted her to stay pure and continue to shine like the sun. He knew the dream he and Rangiku were living now had to come to its end.

* * *

Rangiku was home alone, it was at the beginning of the evening and Rangiku was in the middle of preparing the dinner. She noticed that it was becoming a little chilly in the house and decided to go outside and find some more fuel to the fire. It was already dusk and it was quite cold outside. _Spring can be deceiving, _she thought.

Gin used to chop wood to smaller pieces behind the house as they used as fuel. She was about to pick up a wooden piece when she heard voices. She immediately froze. During her years with Gin nobody had ever come here. Probably because the house was well hidden in the forest and why would anyone come here?

The voices came closer and she could hear the voices belonged to males. She couldn't hear how many they were but she guessed they were at least three. She wanted to quickly slip into the house but risked to be spotted if she did.

Wait, why was she afraid? The men maybe were very nice. Why was she hiding? She didn't know why but she had a sour feeling. Where did she recognize this feeling? It was familiar feeling. Then it struck her. She had felt the same way, years back. _The day when everything changed, _she thought. She hadn't thought much about her past the last two years, especially not about that night…She was so into her own thoughts that she didn't notice when someone approached her until it was too late.

"Hi there", one of the male voices said. He was standing several feet from her. "Do you live here?" he asked or rather that was what Rangiku thought he asked because she couldn't hear him clearly because he was slurring out the words.

Instinctively, she took a few steps back.

"Sorry, I think you've come to the wrong place", she tried to say as politely and cold as she could so he could hopefully get that she didn't want anything to do with him. Unfortunately, it only made the man angry. She was sure the man was drunk.

She was about to turn back to the house when two other men emerged from the shadows of the trees. One who walked a little unsteadily. _Drunk too…_

The other one seemed to be sober so she turned to him but backed away when she saw the malicious look in his eyes. They reminded her of the shadow man's eyes. The three of them looked like they were between twenty and twenty-five.

"It seems we're lost, you wouldn't let us stay over the night?" The sober man said and took a few steps forward.

"I don't think so. If you walk in that direction you will come to road and if you follow the road it will take you to a town," she was glad her voice didn't fail her.

_Damn, why is this happening?! _Her instincts told her to run for her life. But when she remembered how the Red Bandits had done to her that night the fear within her turned to rage.

The sober man didn't like the now determined look in her eyes. He came closer and grabbed her wrist. She didn't scream or tried to get away. His grip around her wrist tightened to became painfully. But she refused to show it.

"Who do you think you are?" The man said angrily and shook her. Why wasn't she afraid? Didn't she know who he was? She should be begging for mercy. The other men also came closer until they were standing on either side of her. The man that still held her wrist in his left hand raised his right fist, ready to hit her.

_This is gonna hurt…_she thought through her anger. She shut her eyes, ready to get beaten.

"If you harm her, I'll kill you", a stone hard voice that she barely recognized came from behind.

"Gin!" she managed to gasp.

The man let go of her. "Come to save your girlfriend? Little brat?" he spat. It would be so much funnier to beat the shit out of this brat.

Rangiku who was free now only ran half way to Gin because she stopped immediately when she saw him. He wasn't looking at her, it was like he didn't see her at all. He had a frightening aura around him. Rangiku could feel it and she didn't like it.

Gin walked towards the man, stopped a few feet away from Rangiku and _smiled._ A wide, sick and twisted smiled. Rangiku began to tremble in fright.

"You think you can you talk to a lady in that manner? How pathetic you are." Gin spoke and her whole body froze. His voice was ice cold and calm yet filled with deadly poison. "Rangiku, please move." He said and looked at her. His sky blue eyes looked like they were burning with hate but it was not directed to her.

She forced her body out of Gin's way. She had never seen him like this. Only his presences frightened her. This wasn't Gin who was standing before her. It was someone she didn't know. She had no idea what he was capable of doing next.

* * *

**A/N: Pardon my grammar and spellings. I've said it before but I'm trying to fix the other chapters. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Leave now", Gin said quietly but the words held so much power in them that it almost seemed like the air was vibrating when he spoke. Apparently, the men felt it too and backed away from them or from _Gin_.

"There's no need to get so worked up kid. We haven't done you anything; we were just looking for a place to stay for the night when we met that girl ", the third man who could speak clearly said. He swallowed again. The youth boy was quite tall for his age but still a few inches shorter than him. He didn't look like the beefy type instead he looked more like the tall and slender guy with lean muscles. Not that dangerous, physically speaking.

But why then did he have the felling something was dead wrong? He was shaking but he didn't know why. His knees felt weak and he didn't trust them to keep him standing for another ten minutes. And for some reason he was soaked in his own sweat.

Afraid. No, he was terrified and the silver-haired boy with the scary eyes was the reason why. When the man stood in front of the boy he got the same feeling as if he stood in front of a merciless, bloodthirsty predator, ready to strike and deliver the killing blow on his prey anytime.

"Sorry, we bothered you, we will be leaving now", he said and was glad his voice didn't fail him. He actually bowed slightly and began to back away along with his friends.

The boy tilted his head slightly and _smiled_ and began to walk towards them.

The men froze in fear. Rangiku saw the fear in the men's eyes; she would probably look like that if she saw Gin's smile. But now he had walked passed her and she could only see his back. But she could hear him crystal clear and she was also frozen in fear.

Gin stopped few feet away from the men. "You're right. You haven't done me anything."

The man who was sober blinked and let his guard down and his companions followed his example. The only thing they needed to do was to back away slowly.

"But you touched her against her will. You're not worthy to speak to her in that manner either. And she is off limits for the kinds of you. When lowlifes like you don't know their places like now I find it _slightly disturbing_." The second after the last word had left Gin's mouth he gripped the sober man's left wrist with his left hand and held it between his thumb and index finger. The movement had been so fast that she barely saw him move. By the looks of the man she could tell he was as stunned as her at Gin's sudden movement.

The man looked down on the boy who still smiled. A quick squeeze with his thumb and index finger was all it took to shatter the bones in the man's wrist.

Even from Rangiku's distance, a several meters away, she could clearly hear the terrible crack. It reminded her of the sound a stick gives away when you break it in half. The scream that followed almost made her deaf. She had never heard a scream that held so much pain.

But the scream didn't scare as much as Gin did right now. She didn't even recognize him the slightest. The gentle and kind Gin she knew was gone. She could feel his reiatsu radiate from him and she could almost make out the silver blue color surrounding him. She didn't want it to be this way. She wanted Gin back. _I don't want to lose anything more again._

If she didn't stop him now he would kill the men without the slightest hesitation. If he killed them nothing between them would ever be the same.

Gin looked at the man who was screaming because of him. The man had fallen to his knees and the other men who were standing behind him were paralyzed of fear. They had no idea how powerful he truly was. How easily he could crush them with his bare presence. He hated guys like this. Men, who only drink sake or were fighting on the streets late at night and probably leaving their family only to do as they pleased. The thought made his blood boil. No one deserved to be abandoned. He knew how painfully it could be. He had experienced it, a long time ago.

"My, you're loud. Do you think you can try to scream a little more quietly when I slowly break _every single_ bone in your body, please", he said calmly like an adult talking to a child.

"M-monster…" the man managed to say.

Gin gritted teeth. "Well, shall I start with your other wrist?"

He reached out to crush the other man's wrist and make sure he felt it. A twisted grin slowly appeared on his face. The man looked up in fear. Gin was just about to…_warmth._ Fragile arms were wrapping around him from behind. He could easily break them. He recognized this warmth; it could only come from one person.

"No, more Gin. Please stop", she spoke softly. Her arms tightening around him, touching him and made him calm down. He heard a little muffled sob and let go of the man. The instant he did the men ran away, screaming.

He turned around, still in her embrace. It felt like thousands of daggers penetrated his heart all at the same time when he saw the tears that was rolling down from her grey eyes. Rangiku could feel that Gin had calmed down because he had sealed his reiatsu inside of him again and he had hidden his eyes from her behind his long bangs. She buried her head in Gin's chest and let all the tears out.

Gin stood like frozen in time. What had he done? _It's true, I'm a monster. I made her cry. I couldn't control myself. I'm the reason that she is crying. _He hated it. He hated himself. He clenched his fist.

Gin Ichimaru made a promise that day. A promise he never would break, no matter what

* * *

He had been gone for a week. He hadn't even come home to dinner. Rangiku had been worried sick. He had been gone since that incident with the three men. He had carried her into the house and laid her on the bed and told her to sleep. She had done as he said and the next morning when she woke up he was gone. She had thought he would come back to dinner but he hadn't. And not the next day nor the following day. Gin didn't even come and delivered the food as he used to. But it didn't matter, they had plenty of food left. She hadn't talked to Gin since then. She had thought that after stopping him from killing everything would go back to normal. How naïve she had been.

* * *

The next morning when she got up it took a minute until she saw the dried fruits on a plate. In a flash she was out of the bed. She ran to the door only to see Gin outside, walking away_. _

"Gin!" she cried out to him. "Stop!" she ran towards him, stopping a few feet away.

Gin stopped too. "Sorry, I haven't been home."

"Where are you going now?" she said and she didn't care if her voice was desperate. "Don't go, please."

Gin turned his head just enough to be able to look at her and just enough for Rangiku to see the blood on his cheek. He wasn't smiling. "I'm going somewhere far away and I won't come back."

Rangiku lost whatever she had intended to say at Gin's sentence. He wasn't coming back?

"W-what?" she said, shocked.

"I'm gonna be a shinigami." He said it simply but she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. "It is a school for people with higher reiatsu than other people. There you learn how to become a god of death." He began to walk, still with his back against her.

Gin was going to leave her? _Gin…_

"Why?" she asked him.

He turned around once again but now facing her with his whole body. "I just don't want things to end up with you crying. "

Rangiku blinked. Was that the reason? He was leaving her because he didn't want her to cry?

"A school for people with reiatsu? I have it too so I'll follow you. I want to be a shinigami." _If that means I'll not lose you then I will do it, become a god of death. _

Gin expression didn't change. "Follow me. You don't need anything. We're leaving."

He began to walk away but this time Rangiku was with him.

A part of Rangiku and Gin died that day because the parts still remained in that house. She felt it. When they left the house behind the also left all their memories together there.

Rangiku Matsumoto made a promise that day; she would never cry again, not even when she was alone.

She knew that from now on things would never be the same as they once were.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 11 was that. When I began to write this fanfiction I thought I was going to write four chapters. I never dreamed that I would write more than ten chapter but here I am, updating the 11th chapter of I Once Trusted You. Hehehe...As usual, pardon my grammar and my spellings AND my slow updatings. REVIEW! :D And a big thanks to everyone who have reviewed my story so far! :D**


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